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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28298055">gonna prove myself to you before i lose myself in you</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/warsfeil/pseuds/warsfeil'>warsfeil</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Detectives, Alternate Universe - Yakuza, M/M</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-11 01:01:09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,980</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28298055</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/warsfeil/pseuds/warsfeil</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>“You’re my favorite pillow,” Ritsu says, matter of fact, and Tsukasa regrets ever joining the Knights Detective Agency.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Sakuma Ritsu/Suou Tsukasa</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>30</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>gonna prove myself to you before i lose myself in you</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>written for secret santa! i hope i did your prompt justice!!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“You’re,” Tsukasa says, knowing the battle is a losing one before he really invests the energy in fighting him, “making it very hard to work, Ritsu-senpai.” </p>
<p>	Ritsu does not move. He’s sprawled across Tsukasa’s legs, and he resembles a lump of fabric as drawn by an aspiring toddler artists more than anything else, his face turned into Tsukasa’s knee so he can attempt to avoid the sunlight. There’s a strip of skin showing where his suit has ridden up in the back, the jacket little more than crumpled fabric and the shirt having never been tucked in properly in the first place.</p>
<p>“Su~o,” Leo singsongs, mere seconds before impact. He uses Ritsu’s back as a table, dropping onto his knees to spread some papers out in front of Tsukasa. “What do you think of these?”</p>
<p>Tsukasa stares for a long moment, swiveling the papers around so he isn’t trying to read them upside down. Ritsu does not move, limp and listless in the light of day as it streams in through the office window. </p>
<p>“These,” Tsukasa says, “are song licenses. To buy songs.”</p>
<p>“Exactly!” Leo chirps.</p>
<p>	“Just go with it,” Arashi advises, idly.</p>
<p>	“It’s not-- aren’t we trying to solve an actual case?” Tsukasa says, frustrated. “You know, before the Tenshouin family takes over the entirety of Japan?”</p>
<p>	“This will help,” Leo says. “Promise!” He leaps to his feet, hands flat on Ritsu’s back, and the force of the action elicits a noise from Ritsu like a balloon deflating. “Cross my heart and hope to die, stick a needle in my-- huh? Huh?”</p>
<p>	“I <i>said</i>,” Izumi says, “you’ve got a new email.”</p>
<p>	“Oh,” Leo says. “I forgot how to read, so answer it for me.”</p>
<p>	Izumi sighs, dramatic and annoyed, as Leo flits out of the room to go do, presumably, Leo-things (in sharp contrast to leader-things, which might actually be useful). </p>
<p>	“I can help,” Tsukasa says.</p>
<p>	“You’re babysitting,” Arashi says, chewing idly on a pen. </p>
<p>	“You’re my favorite pillow,” Ritsu says, matter of fact, and Tsukasa regrets ever joining the Knights Detective Agency.</p>
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>-</p>
</div>Tsukasa has an actual task, for the first time in a week, which is in part because the Agency finally has a <i>case</i>. Honestly, he doesn’t know how anything stays in business, but he adjusts his tie and steps over to the car with all the determination he can muster. The task isn’t that important -- he’s just talking to some people to see if they can piece together what Tenshouin’s group is planning -- but it’s more important than the coffee runs he’s been sentenced to for months, as the newbie.<p>	“Wow,” Ritsu says, as Tsukasa unlocks the car, and Tsukasa nearly jumps out of his skin. “You can drive?”</p>
<p>	“Of course I can drive!” Tsukasa snaps, automatically. He drops himself into the driver’s seat, and Ritsu -- predictably, because Tsukasa’s life is a joke -- gets into the passenger side seat. “Why are you coming?”</p>
<p>	Ritsu glances out the window. It’s overcast, so he seems a little less lethargic than usual, which… isn’t really saying much, given that Ritsu’s normal energy levels make sloths look hyperactive. </p>
<p>	“Just in case,” Ritsu says, and Tsukasa sighs and starts up the car. It isn’t far to the shopping district, and Ritsu stays quiet for the ride, leaning against the window as he watches the scenery flit by.</p>
<p>	“If you have something you need to be doing,” Tsukasa says, as he parallel parks (<i>nailed it</i>, he thinks), “you don’t have to accompany me. I know I’m still new, but I know what I’m doing.”</p>
<p>	Ritsu looks at Tsukasa for a long time, his face blank. It makes Tsukasa nervous, because all of the Agency is quick to show their emotions and easy enough to read -- irritation and exasperation and happiness and fondness are all clear on their faces whenever they happen. </p>
<p>	“I’m doing what I need to,” Ritsu says, finally, and opens the car door. Tsukasa doesn’t know what to make of that, so he follows out. The moment stays in the car: it hangs heavy in the air and gets sealed in when they shut their doors and step over to the shop. </p>
<p>	Tsukasa looks at it for a long moment. It’s nondescript and unmarked, and looks like a residence more than anything, the dark red curtains inside drawn heavy and the door bearing no sign to mark it as open.</p>
<p>	“This is it,” Tsukasa offers, despite the fact that Ritsu must know that already. Ritsu just steps onto the porch before Tsukasa can, and Tsukasa jumps the few steps to catch up with him. “Wait--”</p>
<p>	Ritsu opens the door. The smell of curry billows out, of all things, and Tsukasa is keenly aware that all he’s had to eat today has been a pack of mochi and three coffees that were more hot chocolate than actual caffeine by way of the office machine. </p>
<p>	“Rude,” Ritsu offers, stepping inside. Briefly, Tsukasa thinks of the old vampire myths -- can’t cross the doorstep without being invited -- but Ritsu isn’t really a vampire, and this isn’t really a residence, and so it’s a pointless flight of thinking that reminds him so much of Leo he nearly rolls his eyes at himself. “You’re supposed to greet your guests, you know.”</p>
<p>	“Sorry about that,” offers a redhaired man, stepping out from a room that Tsukasa assumes is the kitchen. Tsukasa steps inside and looks at the decor: it’s traditional, tatami mats and low tables. The front of the house may be shuttered and dark, but the shoji screens leading to the back yard are flung open wide to let in the grey sunlight, and the furin chime gently whenever the breeze picks up. “Wasn’t expectin’ company today.”</p>
<p>	“Are you cooking?” Ritsu asks. The man shrugs. </p>
<p>	“Usually,” he offers. Ritsu wanders away from Tsukasa’s side, and Tsukasa feels a brief, rising moment of panic that Ritsu has been set loose on a house -- store -- <i>location</i> that Tsukasa is entirely unfamiliar with. </p>
<p>	“Ritsu-senpai--” Tsukasa starts.</p>
<p>	“You’re the new kid,” the redhaired man says, not unkindly. “Right?” </p>
<p>	“I--” Tsukasa says, about to answer in the affirmative and then stopping himself immediately, because the last thing he wants to do is have even more people refer to him as a rookie. He’s plenty experienced, just not at Knights specifically. “I’m Suou Tsukasa.”</p>
<p>	“Kiryuu Kuro,” the man offers. He bows, politely, a brief incline that Tsukasa returns in kind. “Don’t worry, I ain’t about to sweat the kid raiding my cabinets.”</p>
<p>	“The… kid?” Tsukasa asks, because Ritsu is older than him and this guy doesn’t look <i>that</i> much older than either of them, aside from the fact that he looks like he could fight a bear and win.</p>
<p>	“I know his brother,” Kuro offers, like that explains anything. </p>
<p>	“You have a brother?” Tsukasa says, directing the statement towards the kitchen. </p>
<p>	“I’m an only child,” Ritsu says, his voice sharp even across the distance. </p>
<p>	Kuro sighs. “Sure,” he agrees, easily. “But why’re you here?”</p>
<p>	There’s silence from the kitchen -- well, that’s a lie, there’s some vague clanging noises from the kitchen, but nothing alarming and definitely nothing helpful -- so Tsukasa is on his own. That’s fine. That’s great. He was going to do this alone in the first place. He squares his shoulders.</p>
<p>	“I just wanted to ask you a few questions about some recent sales you’ve made,” Tsukasa says. </p>
<p>	Kuro reaches up, scratching at the back of his head, looking entirely too intimidating. Ritsu wasn’t intimidated, though, so he probably wasn’t too scary? Less scary than Ritsu? How scary was Ritsu to other people? </p>
<p>	“I can give you some answers,” Kuro says, carefully, the politeness of his voice at odds with the way his words are so rough around the edges, “but past confirmin’ what you already know, I can’t help.”</p>
<p>	It’s more helpful than most places would be. Tsukasa withdraws his notebook, flipping over to the questions he’d been intending to ask. This was a starting point for him -- Leo had given Kuro’s address as that, and nothing more, stating that Kuro was a “safe contact” for their “rookie”. It aggravated him at the time. Hell, it still aggravated him, that no one was taking him seriously, so he was going to do his best.</p>
<p>	Even if all he’d really had to work with was “find out what Tenshouin is up to”. </p>
<p>	“You work in selling protection,” Tsukasa says. “Correct?”</p>
<p>	“We’re bodyguards, yeah,” Kuro agrees. </p>
<p>	“How many people are under your employ?” Tsukasa asks. </p>
<p>	“You’ve got the wrong idea -- I’m not the brains of the operation,” Kuro says, offering a vague attempt at a smile. “I’m just the hired help.” </p>
<p>	“Well,” Tsukasa says, “how many people work with you?”</p>
<p>	Kuro glances out the window, clearly considering how much he should be saying. “There’s only three of us,” he says, finally. </p>
<p>	“That’s not very many,” Tsukasa says, surprised. </p>
<p>	“Ain’t gotta be,” Kuro offers in return. </p>
<p>	“Can you tell me anything about the people you’re normally hired to protect?” Tsukasa asks, carefully.</p>
<p>	“No,” Kuro answers. “But if you’ve got a suspicion written down, you’re probably right. That boss’ve yours has worked with us before.”</p>
<p>	Which is an answer in of itself, even if Tsukasa desperately wants to know the reason that Leo was working with a group in such a moral grey area as Akatsuki. He’s a newcomer to the team; he’s a new hire with an unproved background and he feels like he has so much work to do to get anywhere near the same level as the rest of the agency. </p>
<p>	He wants them to stop treating him like a child. </p>
<p>	“Are the other two,” Tsukasa asks, carefully, “out on a job?”</p>
<p>	Kuro shrugs his shoulders. “It’s just me here today,” he offers, which isn’t an outright confirmation, but isn’t a denial, either. Tsukasa thinks they should both be treading carefully in the conversation, and it’s about then that Ritsu reappears. </p>
<p>	“Tell Kei-chan hi,” Ritsu says, draping himself over Tsukasa like a person-sized blanket.</p>
<p>	“I will,” Kuro promises, and Tsukasa feels distinctly like his presence and questions were entirely superfluous.</p>
<p>	“Ritsu-senpai, what are you--” Tsukasa starts, as Ritsu uses his deadweight to force Tsukasa back towards the door. </p>
<p>	“Hey,” Kuro says, as they start to leave. “Just be careful, alright? You know the kind of thing you’re getting into.”</p>
<p>	Ritsu makes a vague noise of acknowledgement into Tsukasa’s shoulder, and Tsukasa sputters as he’s steered all the way back to the car.</p>
<p>	“Ritsu-senpai, I still had more questions!” Tsukasa says. He opens his car door a little too vehemently, but he’s <i>annoyed</i>. Ritsu just looks at him, face seemingly blank. </p>
<p>	“He’s cooking for more than one person,” Ritsu says, slumping into the car seat like he’s trying to become one with it. “So he’s not being entirely honest.”</p>
<p>	For a moment, Tsukasa is briefly offended that someone would lie to him -- but this isn’t high society, and he can’t pretend he didn’t know that would be an option. It’s frustrating, though, that he couldn’t detect it on Kuro’s face. </p>
<p>	“Well,” Tsukasa says. He has no idea where to go from here, actually. “It’s good that you… found that out…”</p>
<p>	“It’s easier to work in pairs,” Ritsu says, a little too sharply. </p>
<p>	“Like a partner?” Tsukasa asks, carefully. Ritsu looks at him for a long moment, then shrugs.</p>
<p>	“Sure,” Ritsu says. Tsukasa hesitates, but turns the car on. “Let’s go see my brother.”</p>
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>-</p>
</div>Ritsu’s brother’s house is -- uh -- daunting. Tsukasa was raised in a mansion, but he wasn’t raised in a dark Victorian gothic mansion with wrought iron gates and a cobblestone pathway leading to a hedge maze and a cemetery complete with mausoleum.<p>	Actually, Tsukasa can truthfully say he’s never met anyone raised in a home anywhere close to this, and especially not <i>in the middle of Tokyo</i>. </p>
<p>	“You live here, Ritsu-senpai?” Tsukasa asks, his voice a little high pitched. On either side of the house are considerably more normal homes. They both have high fences. Tsukasa wonders if it manages to block out the view of the vampire estate. </p>
<p>	“I moved out,” Ritsu says, and offers nothing else. There’s a fingerprint scanner at the gate, which is surprisingly high-tech for a household that looks like it’s stuck in the 1800s, but the gate opens and Ritsu leads them straight into the house without bothering to knock. The front door is simply unlocked, and Tsukasa mulls on that for a moment before deciding there’s probably not many criminals willing to rob a place like this. </p>
<p>	You’d have to be pretty desperate. </p>
<p>	“Oi,” a voice says. For a brief second, Tsukasa thinks Izumi has somehow beat them here, but -- no, there’s just a man who looks frighteningly similar, if… considerably more disheveled. “You’re back? He’s gonna be sad he missed you.”</p>
<p>	“Oh, good,” Ritsu says. “You can tell me everything.”</p>
<p>	The man looks deeply uncertain, but then Ritsu walks over and drapes over him in the patented Ritsu way, and the man gives out a deep, aggrieved sigh. Tsukasa deeply empathizes.</p>
<p>	“This is my dog,” Ritsu offers, cheerfully, and Tsukasa just stares. He is an upstanding member of society, he is a detective with the Knights Agency, and he cannot think of a single thing to say in the face of his potentially vampiric coworker introducing him to what is clearly a human as a dog.</p>
<p>	Tsukasa wonders if it’s a sex thing, and then immediately tries to unthink the thought, because thinking about Ritsu and sex in the same thought means very uncomfortable considerations about fangs. Like, how would you-- </p>
<p>	“Hello,” Tsukasa offers, politely, because his etiquette classes were expensive and he wasn’t going to let them go to waste. “I’m Suou Tsukasa.”</p>
<p>	“Yeah, I know who you are,” the man offers. “I’m Koga. The fuck do you need, Ritchii?” </p>
<p>	It’s a cute nickname, Tsukasa thinks, absently, and then crams the thought into the box with the sex thoughts and tries to get his entire brain back into properly working order. (But like, the <i>fangs</i>--)</p>
<p>	“What’s my brother doing?” Ritsu asks. </p>
<p>	Koga looks at Tsukasa for a long moment. </p>
<p>	“It doesn’t matter,” Ritsu says, heaving a sigh that’s so overdramatic it seems to wear him out. He hangs listlessly off of Koga’s shoulder. “He’d find out anyway… Suu-chan, I wanted to keep your innocence longer. This is really sad.”</p>
<p>	“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”</p>
<p>	“The vampire bastard’s at a meeting with that emperor asshole,” Koga says. “I think he called your boss, too.” </p>
<p>	“He called Leader?” Tsukasa asks.</p>
<p>	“Don’t look too deep into that one, Suu-chan,” Ritsu says, wrinkling his nose a little. “They’ve all got bad taste in men. Do you know why they’re meeting?”</p>
<p>	“Uh,” Koga says, looking like he’s trying to recall a fact he’d learned in class and then immediately forgotten. “Something about a power struggle, so he’s tryin’ to recruit some help because I guess if he goes down something even worse will happen?” </p>
<p>	Ritsu frowns and looks entirely too much like a displeased cat. </p>
<p>	“Ritsu-senpai,” Tsukasa says, very carefully, “why is your brother meeting Teshouin-on-- uh, Tenshouin, about a power struggle?”</p>
<p>	“Do you know how,” Ritsu says, “you’re actually from a prestigious family with connections to the underworld but you’ve been trying to keep it secret?”</p>
<p>	Tsukasa splutters. </p>
<p>	“Yeah,” Ritsu says, with a sigh. “Same thing.”</p>
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>-</p>
</div>Ritsu insists on taking a nap on a velvet chaise in the sitting room, claiming that the sunlight is too much for him despite the fact that it’s overcast.<p>	“He’ll be out for about half an hour,” Koga says. Despite the fact that Koga rolls his eyes at Ritsu’s behavior, Koga is also the one who drapes a (black, but seemingly homeknit) blanket over Ritsu while he dozes. “So you’re welcome to do… whatever.”</p>
<p>	Tsukasa is, frankly, glad for the opportunity to recover. He’d thought he’d kept his family’s history under wraps -- his parents had gone straight, after all, so as far as his generation was concerned the Suou line had <i>always</i> been upstanding and law abiding citizens -- but he supposes it was bound to get out.</p>
<p>	Legally, he cannot blame the Himemiya, but emotionally he’s already there.</p>
<p>	“Are you,” Tsukasa blurts, before he can stop himself. “I mean, are they -- you all work with Tenshouin?”</p>
<p>	“Nah,” Koga says. “I mean, the damn vampire does sometimes, and Ritchii goes over there for tea, but we’re enemies. Kinda.”</p>
<p>	“Oh,” Tsukasa says, nodding. He’s mentally reworking his mental map of things: if Leo and Eichi have a history, and Eichi and Tsukasa have been friends since the summer home, and Rei and Eichi are… frenemies, then that means.</p>
<p>	Something, probably. </p>
<p>	“Don’t let him bully you,” Koga says, with a jerk of the thumb. “He acts like a jerk, but he’s a good guy.”</p>
<p>	“I know that,” Tsukasa says. Ritsu has been nice, more or less; everyone at the agency has. Everyone has been nothing but kind, even when they’re teasing him or making him go get coffee from the shop instead of the office machine. </p>
<p>	“Huh,” Koga says, unconvinced. “Whatever. Ain’t my problem.”</p>
<p>	“It’s just--” Tsukasa says, a little awkwardly. “I don’t think he takes me seriously.”</p>
<p>	Koga looks at Tsukasa for a long moment, then scratches at his ear.</p>
<p>	“It ain’t that,” Koga says, vaguely. “It’s just that these brothers -- when they’ve got something they like, they wanna keep it safe, you know?”</p>
<p>	Tsukasa doesn’t. He’s sure that Tsukasa wants to keep him safe, sure, but he doesn’t see how that relates to being able to do his job. He just wants to be decent at something. </p>
<p>	“Thank you,” Tsukasa says, anyway, and then his phone rings.</p>
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>-</p>
</div>“So we’re meeting Tenshouin at a cafe?” Tsukasa asks. The plan had been hastily laid in place after a frantic phone call that involved Eichi’s personal assistant and Koga actually barking at the phone until Ritsu had taken it.<p>	“Yeah, it’s neutral ground,” Ritsu says, tiredly. Apparently his nap being interrupted meant that he was going to be out of sorts for the entire day. The cloud cover had burned away, and the afternoon sun was bright; it left Ritsu washed out against the car seat, pale and withdrawn. Tsukasa thinks that he looks a bit like a corpse, but like, an exceptionally beautiful one. “It’s run by a guy Ecchan knows, and a guy I know, and a guy Secchan knows, and then some other guy.”</p>
<p>	“That’s a lot of-- <i>Ecchan</i>?” Tsukasa says.</p>
<p>	“Ecchan,” Ritsu repeats, as though he sees nothing wrong with addressing the current head of the Tenshouin empire by a nickname like that. Tsukasa can’t even conceive of it, but he supposes he doesn’t have to try to censor the fact that he’s called Eichi an older brother since he was like, five. </p>
<p>	Ritsu is too fatigued to act as a navigator, so Tsukasa follows the GPS directions to the TRICK☆STAR espresso bar, which is in a surprisingly terrible location. The building is clean when Tsukasa parks, though, and it’s well taken care of when they make it inside, the smell of coffee floating out.</p>
<p>	“Maa-kun,” Ritsu says, immediately, and wanders off towards a redhead who has to contort himself awkwardly to continue making beverages with Ritsu hanging off of him. </p>
<p>	“Tsukasa-kun,” Eichi says, cheerfully, redirecting Tsukasa’s attention, and Tsukasa perks up automatically, dropping down to sit across from him. There’s a teapot already made and a selection of small desserts, and it’s surprisingly dressed down for an afternoon tea with Eichi, but Tsukasa supposes the current location might not be as upscale as he’s used to. “Thank you for coming.”</p>
<p>	“Of course,” Tsukasa says. “I hope it’s alright that Ritsu-senpai came with me. I heard you were meeting with his brother, so…”</p>
<p>	“Oh, yes,” Eichi says, glancing away with an amused expression. “I’ve heard you were making good on your investigation of my actions, given that we were speaking to all the same people.”</p>
<p>	Tsukasa can’t help it. Getting a compliment from Eichi -- <i>any</i> compliment from Eichi -- makes him glow, even if he finds now that there’s a fervent part of him wishing that Ritsu could hear it; that the rest of the agency could compliment him.</p>
<p>	“Ritsu-senpai helped,” Tsukasa says, trying to remain humble in the face of praise.</p>
<p>	“I’m contacting your leader, so you don’t need to worry about hiding any of this from him,” Eichi offers, easily, and Tsukasa is impressed, because as far as he’s aware Leo’s entire knowledge of phones is as a device used to play music and record 3-hour long rambling dissertations on why Mozart was a punk. “But this is as much about you as a member of his group as it is about you as the future heir to the Suou estate.”</p>
<p>	Tsukasa sits up a little straighter, automatically. He can see Ritsu from his peripheral, stealing several marshmallows from a glass container while a blond boy tries frantically (and fails, equally frantically) to stop him. </p>
<p>	“Of course,” Tsukasa says. “If I’m able to help, I’ll do my best! --If it isn’t too illegal.”</p>
<p>	“For once,” Eichi says, a little dryly, “I’m trying to stop more illegal things from happening.”</p>
<p>	Eichi lays out the facts: there’s another faction rising up, one that splintered off from his own after he used them for a power grab several years ago. Eichi has remained in control of most of the city since then, but now people are using secret information gathering techniques and subterfuge and a lot of things that make Tsukasa’s law-abiding head spin.</p>
<p>	“So what do you need Suu-chan for?” Ritsu asks, and Tsukasa starts a little, not having realized that Ritsu was back. Ritsu sits in his own seat, scooting it towards the table so he can sprawl listlessly over the surface with his bag of stolen marshmallows.</p>
<p>	“The same thing I need your brother for,” Eichi says. “And you, if you’re willing. I want to guarantee as many people are trustworthy as possible. Loyalty to me isn’t necessary, but if they succeed in removing me from power, then it’s likely to be even worse than whatever grudges people have against me.”</p>
<p>	“You nearly killed my brother,” Ritsu says. </p>
<p>	“I don’t know if you’re mad that I tried,” Eichi says, “or mad that I didn’t succeed.”</p>
<p>	Ritsu frowns, like he isn’t quite sure of the answer either, and then takes the excuse to stuff an entire snack cake in his mouth. </p>
<p>	“I don’t think we had any plans to try to remove you from power,” Tsukasa says, “so you have my support. Unless Leader is against that.”</p>
<p>	“He won’t be,” Ritsu says, around a mouthful of dessert. </p>
<p>	“You may not see him for a few days,” Eichi offers. He stands up, carefully, business apparently concluded for the moment. </p>
<p>	“Did you kidnap him again?” Ritsu asks.</p>
<p>	“Again?” Tsukasa echoes.</p>
<p>	“It’s a thing,” Ritsu says. He slithers to his feet, then dumps most of his bodyweight onto Tsukasa the second Tsukasa rises to his feet. “Suu-chan, carry me.”</p>
<p>	“I’m not that strong!”</p>
<p>	“He realized I have multiple pianos, so he said something about a battle royale,” Eichi says. “I didn’t have a chance to find out what that means, but I’m sure I’ll know when I get back.”</p>
<p>	“Does this mean,” Tsukasa says, suddenly, “that he knew this investigation wasn’t going to go anywhere?” He can see his chance to prove himself withering before his eyes. “Was it a test?”</p>
<p>	“Huh,” Ritsu says, contemplatively. Tsukasa attempts to move towards the door, but it’s a little hard when Ritsu outweighs him. </p>
<p>	“The thing about your leader,” Eichi says, “is that if he’s testing anyone, it’s usually himself--”</p>
<p>	Eichi’s voice vanishes from Tsukasa’s consciousness. He thinks Eichi says a few more words before the situation catches up, but Tsukasa doesn’t process them; the first bullet hits the glass window and shatters it and the pastry case both. Tsukasa’s brain takes precious seconds to understand it -- that they’re being shot at; that they’re being attacked -- and he watches the dark-haired man that had been with Eichi start to move, reaching out to grab him and throw him behind the bar for safety. The owners of the bar drop down for cover, and Tsukasa moves, too slow, Ritsu’s weight still half-on him even as he struggles to react.</p>
<p>	“Get--” Ritsu starts, but Tsukasa can see the gunman out of the corner of his eyes, a flicker of red hair on the roof of the opposite building. They’re all standing too close, and Tsukasa makes a split second decision that he hopes he lives long enough to not regret.</p>
<p>	He falls. He throws his weight back onto Ritsu, and they spin partially in the air as the next shot cracks out like a car backfiring. For a moment, Tsukasa thinks he’s managed it. </p>
<p>	“Yuzuru!” Eichi is yelling, and someone is taking off through the remains of the window. The pain sets in, a rippling heat across Tsukasa’s back, and it brings tears to his eyes before he can even think about it. He doesn’t want to cry in front of Ritsu. He doesn’t, he doesn’t. </p>
<p>	Ritsu is staring at him, eyes wide, redder than Tsukasa has ever seen him -- and then he’s moving, too, fangs bared; he’s lifting Tsukasa up so easily that Tsukasa thinks he must be hallucinating from the shock. It hurts, of course, and it hurts more when Ritsu drops him behind the counter.</p>
<p>	“<i>Help him</i>,” Ritsu says, and Tsukasa stares blankly for a long moment as someone tries to dab frantically at his back with bar towels. </p>
<p>	Then he blacks out.</p>
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>-</p>
</div>Tsukasa wakes up to the smell of cookies, which is weird, but then he opens his eyes to see a canopy above his head, which is even weirder, and then -- because weirdness, like many other things, comes in threes -- he processes the arm slung across his chest that definitely doesn’t belong to him.<p>	“What,” Tsukasa starts. </p>
<p>	“Suu-chan,” Ritsu says, and his breath is <i>right there on Tsukasa’s neck</i> and Tsukasa sees the mental image of Ritsu’s fangs and decides that not moving at all is the smartest decision. “You almost died.”</p>
<p>	Tsukasa’s back doesn’t hurt at all, which is funny, because he’s pretty sure he got shot and he somehow doesn’t think he was unconscious long enough to fully heal from that kind of thing. </p>
<p>	“I didn’t want you to get shot,” Tsukasa says, a little weakly. Ritsu pushes himself up onto one elbow, and Tsukasa takes the opportunity to sit up, back against the headboard. His back is a little sore, now that he’s moving, but nothing that feels like open wounds. He reaches back, tries to touch the spot he remembers being in blistering pain. </p>
<p>	“You’re fine,” Ritsu says, and looks away, seemingly disgruntled. “I took care of it.”</p>
<p>	“You what,” Tsukasa says.</p>
<p>	“You’re a detective,” Ritsu says, sounding slightly annoyed. “Figure it out.”</p>
<p>	It’s almost mean, given how helpful Ritsu has been up to this point, so Tsukasa’s brain kicks back into gear almost automatically. </p>
<p>	“Vampire magic,” Tsukasa blurts, without meaning to. </p>
<p>	Ritsu looks at him.</p>
<p>	“Ritsu-senpai, are you really a vampire?” Tsukasa asks, because -- up to about five minutes ago -- Tsukasa was really banking on the fact that probably they were fake vampires who just acted like vampires because… Tsukasa wasn’t sure. Middle school syndrome, but in your early 20s. </p>
<p>	“See,” Ritsu says, sounding almost pleased and reluctantly so, “I knew you weren’t stupid.”</p>
<p>	“Is that a y--”</p>
<p>	“So if you aren’t stupid,” Ritsu says, “why did you block a shot with your body?”</p>
<p>	“Um.”</p>
<p>	“I’d have been fine,” Ritsu continues, past Tsukasa’s mild objection.</p>
<p>	“I didn’t know that!” Tsukasa says, a little louder. “Anyway, I’m fine, aren’t I? Is Tenshouin-oniis--”</p>
<p>	“He’s <i>fine</i>,” Ritsu says. “And he caught half the people that were after him or whatever, so you don’t have to worry about that, either.”</p>
<p>	Tsukasa accepts this. He sits on it, for a long moment, lets his hands curl against the blanket as he uses his best deductive reasoning to try and put the pieces together.</p>
<p>	“Ritsu-senpai, could it be that,” Tsukasa says, hesitantly, “you were worried about me?”</p>
<p>	Ritsu does not respond. He looks away, arms crossed, lips pressed tightly together.</p>
<p>	“Were you with me all day because you thought something like this might happen? Did you -- were you trying to protect me?” Tsukasa asks. He isn’t sure if he’s hopeful about it or not; isn’t sure if he wants to hear that Ritsu cares that much or not. Both options seem uniquely dangerous in their own way, especially considering the impact of, apparently, vampire magic. Which is an entirely new experience for Tsukasa.</p>
<p>	“You still got hurt,” Ritsu mumbles, almost petulant. </p>
<p>	Tsukasa hesitates, then reaches out. It’s strange, to drop his hand onto Ritsu’s head -- his hair is as silky as it looks -- and pet his senior’s head, but Ritsu leans into the touch automatically. Vampires are basically just cats, Tsukasa concludes, with very little proof of it other than a kneejerk reaction.</p>
<p>	“Thank you,” Tsukasa says. </p>
<p>	“Don’t get hurt next time,” Ritsu says, sounding sullen about it. </p>
<p>	“I will definitely let you get shot instead,” Tsukasa says, briefly wondering how often this kind of thing happens if there’s such a definite point of <i>next time</i> involved. </p>
<p>	“No,” Ritsu says, settling down on Tsukasa’s lap again, using his thighs as a pillow. “Let Ecchan get shot, he probably deserves it.”</p>
<p>	Tsukasa can’t help it. He laughs a little, even if it feels a little mean-spirited. </p>
<p>	“I bet you taste better,” Ritsu says, idly, which shuts Tsukasa up entirely as he tries to sort out whether that’s a sexual innuendo, a vampire reference, or <i>both</i>.</p>
<p>	“Ritsu-senpai what does that mean,” Tsukasa says, entirely too fast to be calm.</p>
<p>	“It means you’re my favorite pillow,” Ritsu says, closing his eyes and smiling.</p>
<p>	Tsukasa supposes that’s fine, all things considered.</p>
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